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Describe Leonsis concept of idea generation and explain the approach you would take as an entrepreneur in this kind of busine
Small Business Management
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Small Business Management
1. Describe Leonsis concept of idea generation and explain the approach you would take as an entrepreneur in this kind of business.
Leonsis’ ways of idea generation are both creative and imaginative. With regard to the case study, he generates a business idea from an obituary of a renowned writer. He was able to go beyond the obituary into finding out the writing of the diseased. It is in the process that he came across the term Nainking and decided to use it in to produce a Chinese based film. Certainly, the film industry is very sensitive and requires imagination and high degree of creativity in order to realize positive returns. As an entrepreneur, I would start by designing my brand in such a way that it addresses the needs of a certain market. This is vitally important because it enhances positive reception.
This would be attained through undertaking of comprehensive and exhaustive market research. With respect to implementation, I would undertake effective marketing to ensure that my target market is well informed about the availability of the product in the market. At this point, it is worth acknowledging that customer knowledge about the availability of the product in the market enables them to acquire it. To enhance optimal performance of the product in the market, I would use creativity to ensure that the respective product is unique.
2. Describe your big idea and the methods you would use for finding statistics to validate the market size and growth opportunity for your potential business
My big idea pertains to the development of comedian films and computer games for teenagers and small children. Recent research indicates that these films and games enhance the motor skills of the children. They are therefore recommended for small children and the teenagers. With the current busy lifestyles, parents are finding it increasingly difficult to spend sufficient time with their children. Moreover, the pervasive nature of technological advancements has increased the accessibility of the children to technological devices. From a psychological point of view, comedies help in addressing incidences of stress and depression that undermine effective functioning of the teenagers.
Certainly, I would use wide ranging methods to validate the size of the market as well as the growth opportunities for this business. To begin with, there are a host of secondary as well as primary sources that provide useful insights regarding the size of the market for this business. These will be employed in informing decision making during the initial stages. Then, I would undertake actual field surveys to determine the size of the market. This can be undertaken online especially considering that a segment of the market representing teenagers can be easily found on line. Market trends indicate that sizes of markets tend to be dynamic in nature. Undertaking field surveys would enable me to generate factual information as well as data for decision making.
3. How would you leverage your resources and network of contacts to begin to accomplish your entrepreneurial goal?
It can not be disputed that resources are vitally important for effective and successful establishment of any business. Developing comedy films and compute games requires both financial and labor resources. I would mobilize sufficient resources by borrowing money from relevant financial institutions. In addition, I would make great efforts to attract investors in the business by ensuring that its operations yield beneficial results. Currently, research shows that there are various financial institutions that are willing to empower entrepreneurs accordingly. Winning their confidence would be imperatively important in ensuring that the financial ability of the business is secured.
With regards to leveraging contacts, I would attain this through advertisement and employment of word of mouth. In this regard, the target audience would be the adults with small children as well as teenagers. Ensuring high quality especially during production is useful in enhancing return purchase too. Maintaining a database of clients would also be useful in enabling me to have their contacts at all times.
4. What strategies would you use to set up your network to start your own business?
Starting up a business can be very tricky and it requires a high degree of creativity. The manner in which business operations kick off in most instances determines the performance of the business in future. For this reason, it would be important to ensure that business operations kick off well. To set up a network, I would employ social networking sites. Emergent research indicates that a significant percentage of the teenagers are always found on these sites. Creating a fan page or inviting friends in the business facebook account would for instance go a long way in improving the network of the business.
Because of the fact that the initial costs tend to be higher, it would be important to utilize the internet first before establishing a physical office. Nonetheless, it would also be important to liaise with important regulatory bodies in order to foster effective functioning. Initially, I would also collaborate with the existing businesses in identifying and establishing credible contacts with viable clients. Since they have been in business for a significant period of time, they ought to be conversant with the needs of the clients as well as general market trends. Therefore, merging the business with another existing one during the initial stage would be useful in helping me to kick start operations effectively and successfully.
Describe and Assess the Economic Arguments for Government Intervention in the Health Care Sector, with Particular Reference t
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Describe and Assess the Economic Arguments for Government Intervention in the Health Care Sector, with Particular Reference to Public Health
Introduction
In the recent past, there have been contentious debates with regard to public health and the implications of the government policies in safeguarding the same. The specific areas of concern in this regard revolve around smoking bans, food labeling, advertising of junk foods, alcohol taxation and prescription of ideal public behavior. While some segments of the populations contend that governments need to play a critical role in safeguarding the holistic wellbeing of the population, some point out that such measures are a mere intrusion in the privacy of the populations. Yet some maintain that the relative economic implications of such measures have beneficial effects on not only present but also future populations. It is in this consideration that this paper provides a critical review of the economic arguments for government interventions in public health.
From an economic point of view, Henderson (2007) asserts that public health can be considered to be a capital as well as consumption product. With respect to the former, persons in good health tend to be more valuable than their counterparts in poor health. This is because they are more economically productive than those in poor health. This is because they have the physical, mental and educational skills and capacities upon which economic productivity is anchored. As a consumption good, public health is an invaluable economic good because it contributes significantly to an individual’s physical and economic wellbeing and satisfaction.
In their review, McPake and Normand (2008) indicate that providing healthy living conditions is of paramount importance to the overall health of the populations. The government’s intervention is a sustainable measure and morally acceptable as primarily, it is responsible for safeguarding the health of its population. Comparative studies show that developing economies tend to lag behind because of the failure of the governments to provide healthy living conditions for their populations. Furthermore, the inherent differential growth between the countries that are rich and their poor counterparts is attributed to the incidences of ill health and short life expectancy in the latter (Gold, Siegel, Russell & Weinstein, 1996). Thus taking measures to increase the life expectancy of such population is posited to be the fundamental measure that could help counter the situation.
Drummond and McGuire (2001) cite that improving the environmental health in developed countries is likely to increase economic production by a significant 37% per year. This is because improving health would possibly culminate in higher productivity of the population that would then enhance the overall output. A similar effect would be contributed to by a perceived increase in the supply of labor. Most importantly, the relative increase in training would result in diversification and increase in the skills of the population and hence lead to an increase in savings. These in turn would be instrumental in enhancing production as they would be invested in intellectual as well as physical capital (Australian Government, 2009).
The costs of ill health that stem from poor public health have far reaching implications on the welfare of the populations. Briggs, Sculpher and Claxton (2007) categorize these in three main classes. The direct costs are associated with the costly procedures of treating the illnesses that the populations suffer from; indirect costs are those related to loss of the loss of productivity as a result of high morbidity rates, low life expectancy as well as premature deaths and finally intangible costs that constitute the psychological implications of the illnesses and diseases.
In this respect, Morris, Delvin and Parkin (2008) ascertain that unlike the first two, intangible cost can not be measured. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2008) laments that the costs associated with illnesses that culminate from poor public health take up a significant 6.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country. In particular, a recent study that was undertaken by the Australian Government in 2009 found out that heart related complications that are associated with environmental pollution account for 1-3% of the country’s Gross Domestic product. This if transferred to other economic sectors can contribute to the growth of the country significantly. At this juncture, it can be argued that the government is justified in making timely interventions in order to reduce these costs that undermine the holistic economic growth of the country.
In addition, it is worth acknowledging that since the economic costs that are related to poor public health are born by the population, government interference in this regard is instrumental in curbing these. This contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of the population and further enhances their productivity. Conversely, Muennig (2007) argues that in a society that is experiencing significant living costs; premature deaths are beneficial as they significantly reduce the costs of the government in this respect. However, it should be acknowledged that the productivity of healthy populations can also reduce the costs of the government and boost production at the same time. The ultimate economic benefits are more than these that would be realized in premature deaths. Besides, human life has intrinsic goodness that should be safeguarded. Since the economic value of the activities that they are likely to engage in increase with time, Haddix et al (2002) maintains that it is better to prevent the costs through enhancement of public health than allow premature deaths.
Conclusion
Public health issues have raised various controversies in the recent past. Government interventions are mainly geared towards eliminating the economic costs that undermine the welfare of the populations. As it has come out from the study, healthy populations are more productive than their unhealthy counterparts. Premature deaths and costs that are related to illnesses have far reaching implications on the holistic wellbeing of the population as they are entirely borne by the same. The resultant direct, indirect and intangible costs inhibit economic growth of a country as they take up a significant percent of its gross domestic product.
In this consideration therefore, it can be contended that the government interventions to enhance public is a cost effective measure because it reduces the costs that the population would incur to cover for the consequences of the negative implications of public health. Further, it is note worthy that addressing such costs in a timely manner contributes directly to economic development of the country in the long run. Generally, enhancing the health of the population through preventive measures yields more benefits than allowing premature deaths. This deprives the country of human labor that is critical in enhancing economic productivity of the same.
List of References
Australian Government, 2009, Healthier Future for all Australians, National Health and Hospital reform Commission, Australia.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008, Australia’s Health, AIHW, Australia.
Briggs A, Sculpher M, & Claxton K 2007, Decision Making in Health Economics. Oxford University Press, USA.
Drummond M & McGuire A (eds.) 2001, Economic Evaluation in Health Care, Oxford University Press, USA.
Gold R, Siegel E, Russell B & Weinstein C, (eds.), 1996, Cost-effectiveness in Health, Oxford University Press USA.
Haddix C, Teutsch M & Corso S (eds.), 2002, Prevention Effectiveness: A Guide to Economic Evaluation, Oxford University Press, USA.
Henderson, W 2009, Health Economics, South-Western Cengage Learning, UK.
McPake B & Normand, C 2008, Health economics: An international Perspective, Rutledge, USA.
Morris S, Devlin N & Parkin D, 2007, Economic Analysis in Health Care, John Wiley & Sons, UK.
Muennig P 2007, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health, Jossey-Bass, USA..
Describe a variety of assessment tools including interest, abilityintellectual level, achievement level
Assessment Tools
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Describe a variety of assessment tools including interest, ability/intellectual level, achievement level, and personality type assessments. At least 4 assessment tools must be chosen for each category in the previous sentence. Include a short description of each tool.
Personality type assessments- are tools used to determine the characteristics of a person, one of the tools is the aptitude test that measures how efficiently one can perform in their particular area (Hensen, 2004).
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MMTIC) assessment can assist children to comprehend themselves better, and give parents and teachers better ways and methods to reach children with different learning styles.
Insight Inventory is another tool that can evaluate personality; it provides a common sense format of balanced view of behavior. Self-scored within minutes, Participants adopt important behavior skills, including how to adjust their style to manage conflict, and improve on team work (Hensen, 2004).
Human metrics Jung Typology Test- uses methods, questionnaires, scores and software appropriate to Human metrics. This is based on Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ typological research on personality coupled with strengths of preferences and the description of one’s personality.
The Personality Questionnaire for Kids- helps to evaluate how a child views the world. This can be used to determine how they will respond to external stimuli and change in environment for instance change in school (Aiken, 2002).
Interest can be assessed by
The 16PF interest test- measures the interest of an individual based on self reporting, it is usually conducted without the knowledge of the person so as to be able to tell their exact interest without pretext
Smart interest test- this measures how far one is will to allow changes and how well they can adapt to these changes simply because they fall within their interest brackets.
CAT tests are administered to determine the maximum performance and interest of an individual and assess whether they are currently living them in their lives.
Vocational interest measures the development of interest, how long it takes for an individual to develop interest in something that is meant to be for their benefit.
Tools for assessing intellectual level are;
The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales- is administered individually and is based on the measure of intelligence based on the memory. It is suitable for individuals between ages of 3-90 years and includes both verbal and non verbal interpretations of answers. Different have different questions (Aiken, 2002).
Formative assessments- It is also referred to as diagnostics testing. It is mostly used in the education system by teachers to evaluate the improvement on students. It is based on qualitative feedback and is often conducted periodically in an effort to make proper comparisons (Hensen, 2004).
The Stanford-Binet-5- it is used to measure intelligence. It focuses on the areas of verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, and short term memory. It is used to determine how well and clear memory can be and is most appropriate for people aged between 6-70 years.
Wechsler tests- it is an adult and children intelligent scale that focuses on individual ability to adopt to changes in the environment and at the same time to look for solutions to problems.
Achievement can be assessed by
Broad- spectrum tests can be used to measure achievement and include Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Tests; – It measures fundamental skills, ease in a subject and capability to use skills. For instance reading, tests will measure ability to decode words, knowledge of phonics, ease in reading fast and accuracy in understanding.
Wide Range Achievement- it measure how well an individual is able to read statements, understand phrases and calculate mathematics with ease. It allows for testing within a short period of time and has no effects on the individual being tested. It is appropriate for individuals between the ages of 5-94 years.
Product -Gray reading tests- it is based on oral reading and shows the development and improvements that take place in children as they become more and more efficient in their reading. Achievement testing shows a child’s levels of academic performance compared to a standard peer group (Aiken, 2002). Children can be compared to age or grade peers or to children of lower or higher ages
Test of Reading Comprehension and Test of Written Language. It depends on the subject depth to be evaluated but mostly focuses on the ability to understand the written language and to translate it into the written words without assistance from any one. It is mostly conducted on children in order to determine the strides ad improvements that they are making (Hensen, 2004).
Criterion-referenced tests (CRT) – measures what the person is able to do and indicate what skills have been mastered. This is appropriate to work stations as it can be able to help to pick out the best individual suited for a promotion due to increase in competency.
Cognition Assessment
Cognitive assessment can be vital especially in detecting dementia in older adults and ADD in younger children
Mini Mental state Examination (MMSE), – this mostly evaluates the memory of a person and how well and clear it is. Especially in older adults when the memory is not good and they easily forget things it is usually a sign of clinical schizophrenia.
Attention analysis test – this analyzes how easy it is to capture and loose the attention of an individual. This is especially so in younger children whose attention is expected to be easily captured by new things and experiences. If these things do not capture the attention of a child they may be suffering from acute to severe case of retard.
The MGF planning test – this is a test that is used to determine if an individual can be able to plan something and execute the very way it was planned. In children it is determined by use of toys that are stacked up and crumbled and the child is asked to make it to appear the way it was before.
PEPP assessment – this deals with comprehension of language and how it is translated and put down on paper (Hensen, 2004). It measures the ability and capability of a person to understand his environment and come up with a structured way in which it operates and how it should operate.
References
Hensen Michel, (2004), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Springer Publishers, Washington D.C
Aiken R. Lewis, (2002), personality Assessment: Methods and Practices, Prentice Hall Press, New Jersey.